Brave Soldier
by Jemu Nekketsu
Summary: Louie and the gang are on the run after saving Ofun and smashing the castle. Since the king badly wants to meet this hero, he hires a famed Hunter to bring the Rune Soldier back. Crossover with Brave Soul
1. Chapter 1

**Brave Soldier **

**by Jemu Nekketsu**

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Rune Soldier, or any of the series making an appearance in this work of fiction.

_**Chapter 1: A Tale of Two Parties**_

_"This is totally against my will. This is totally against - _ooh -_ my will."_

'Sure,' Melissa's severely restrained sensual side chided her as she mentally chanted the mantra, over and over, as she was locked in a passionate embrace and returning an equally passionate kiss with the man Mylee had chosen to be her champion. 'You priggish little hypocrite. So this is why you sent Genie and Merrill scouting in the wilderness, huh, so you could get some quality time with this hunk of burning love here.'

_"Are you really my conscience? Lord Mylee, why must my conscience torment me so?"_

'You could try addressing me directly, sister. I'm not going away even if you ignore me, so you might as well talk to me.'

Louie's thoughts were in shambles. He had acted on one of his famous impulses, where he sat down directly in front of the blonde priestess and put his hands on her shoulders. When she looked up and opened her lovely mouth to inquire what he was about, he just stared directly at her face, willing his current emotional state make itself known in his eyes - curiosity. Wonder. Affection. They held each other in that meaningful glance which lasted forever, and Louie watched in rapture as a scarlet flush crept up and stained Melissa's pale face, making her look absolutely fetching. Totally irresistible by mortal standards - and he was a mere man, only too willing to be enchanted by such beauty. And so he did the only possible thing to do in such a situation - he closed the last inches keeping their lips apart, joining them together and drawing a ragged gasp from her. Whether her gasp was from shock, outrage, surprise, or need, he did not know - and probably wouldn't be in a position to do so while their lips remained joined.

_"Speaking of position, man, let's spare the priestess' knees from more affronts, aye?" _Louie's conscience asked.

'I'm all for that - how?' was his Spartan reply. Unlike Melissa, Louie was very much in tune with his other side. It was the essence of being a magician - to draw strength from all of ones hidden facets to realize his goals. Recklessness, inquisitiveness, chivalry, stubbornness - all these were useful to him, for the very reason that they were aspects of him. Right now, it was his Chivalry - working hand-in-hand with Lechery - that was guiding him, with Recklessness as usual thumbing his nose at the consequences of what he was about to do.

_"Slide your arms down to somewhere above her elbows, push them in so you can lift her when you lie back and drape her over your length. You have to do it quickly yet smoothly, Louie, my friend. Can you handle it?"_

'Here goes!' Grasping Melissa like he had envisioned, he lifted her slightly and threw his body back, kicking his legs to make sure he was stretched out - and promptly banged his head against a stone hidden in the grass. "Ow!"

In a flash, the spell was broken.

Or was it?

Melissa found herself straddling Louie, her hands clasped to her respectable bosom, while the magician paid the priestess no heed and was busy trying to keep his brains from spilling out of his head. 'Oh, poor thing. Go, on, girl, do the priestly thing, attend to your champion in his time of need,' Melissa's subconscious urged. 'Head injuries are sometimes more insidious than they appear,' it warned.

_"Do they, now?" _"Louie, is it serious?"

"Feels like it, though I'm no expert. I'm also not what you'd call an objective witness to this pain."

"I've heard it said that head injuries are sometimes worse than they appear. Let me use my magic on you."

"Oh, you're free to do that anytime to me, Melissa," Louie chuckled at his lame line, and winced as his head throbbed from the effort.

"Shhh. Don't talk now. Can you manage to sit up? I promise the pain will be gone real quick."

Gritting his teeth, calling on his old friend Willpower, Louie sat as straight up as he could. Melissa scooted back a bit, and then stopped when she felt something hard and warm against her bottom. _"What in Mylee's name?"_

'Forget it for now, sister, get to healing him! Do you have any idea how much his head probably hurts right now from the blood rushing up to it?' her subconscious chided.

Placing her fingers gently on his temples, she chanted. Healing energy flowed from her fingertips, mixed with Louie's vitality, and did a thorough job of cleaning all the damage inside and outside. Louie tensed as he felt the cool rush inside him, slowly erasing the pain, and soon relaxed as the pain vanished. Actually, he was feeling more than relaxed. "Melissa...?"

"What is it, Louie?"

"Thanks," he managed to whisper before his lids fell and he slumped forward, right into Melissa's soft, bounteous chest.

Her first reaction was to scream to high heaven. Next was to implore Mylee's name, then uppercut this lecherous man off of her chest, then stomp him into the ground. She did none of those however, as her subconscious spoke again. 'I'm afraid you can't do any of those, Melissa.'

_"Watch me!"_

'You just healed his injuries - you want to risk adding more? Seriously, the man is as strong as an ox; doesn't it concern you why he'd blank out after you used your magic on him? In his weakened state, your _champion_ needs your protection more than any other time. Is this any time to be selfish, or be a stuck-up old maid?'

That took the rancor out of the priestess. _"I'm not an old maid!"_

"Melissa..." Louie mumbled, as if dreaming.

"Louie?"

"...be with you..."

Melissa froze.

"... always..."

'That's points for you, let me tell you, but we might still end up an old maid unless you tell him pretty much the same thing.'

"He wants to be with me, for always?" Visions of being dragged across the continent from one scrape to another day by day filled her mind, and when night fell...

'And when night falls, well, dear, you can probably expect more of that sweet, hot stuff you had going on before Mr. Wonderful here conked himself out.'

"This is so against my will-"

'Oh, put a staff in it, girl. Besides, it's almost sunset and your friends aren't back yet, and you can't just leave Louie and yourself here unprotected.'

"I'll pitch the tent."

'Can you do it properly, on your own?'

Melissa frowned. Before they met up with Louie, such tasks were either relegated to Genie or Merrill, usually decided by a coin toss. She hated to admit it, but...

"I can't!"

'Tsk, tsk. Well, our best course is then to cast a circle of protection where you can both stay and wait for your friends. I mean, I like this guy, but he's getting heavy.'

"He is?"

'Uh-huh. So, gently lay him on his back, watch out for crap on the ground, cast a circle, spread a blanket over him, then cuddle up to keep warm throughout the night.'

"WHAT?!"

'You don't want him dying from cold, just after you saved him with your magic. Actually, what would Mylee do to us if Louie does kick the bucket?'

"I don't think I want to know." A cold breeze blew, and Melissa shivered a bit, despite Louie's warmth that she cradled in her arms. The cold convinced her that her subconscious was right, and got her to moving and following its instructions. As she burrowed into Louie's side for warmth, she prayed for no rain.

Which was the exact opposite of what Genie and Merrill were praying for, up in the branches of a tree some distance from a stream. "You really think rain would throw off those dog-demons' noses from our scents?" Merrill asked her warrior friend.

"It should. If it doesn't, we're in for a real rough time," Genie replied.

"I wonder what those two are doing now?" the little thief asked. There was no need to clarify the identity of the two she was referring to.

"They're probably at each other's throats by now."

"Translated, in better off circumstances than the one we're in right now."

"Marin, what did the spirits say?" an armor-clad swordsman with his dirt-brown hair tied in a ponytail asked his pink-haired feline companion.

"The spirits said that dog-monsters and other basal breeds roam these woods, onii-chan," the catgirl replied, getting up from her cross-legged position on the ground.

"I guess this means a lot of fighting for us," he replied. "Did they say anything about the group we're after?"

"The spirits say that many humans entered this forest to rid it of the evil inhabitants, nya. But this place is not home for them, but a meeting place for them, where they can exchange boasts and settle disagreements without much interference from the outside, nya."

He took a minute to digest that. "Great, we have to locate our target and not draw attention to ourselves if we want out of this mission alive. Plus, there's no telling whether or not we have to fight our quarry once we do reach them."

"What do you mean, onii-chan?"

"It means, kitty, that our mission just got harder. Come, let's tell the others."

The two made their way back to their campfire - an easy feat, thanks to the catgirl's sense of smell - and found the rest of their party absorbed in nighttime tasks. Alicia, their blue-haired buxom ditz of a priestess, was cooking. Clare, Alicia's older sister who could have passed off as her twin despite their ten-year age gap, was polishing her collection of rapiers and her armor. She was an accomplished fencer, and knew some battle magic as well. Her skill in healing was not on par with her younger sister - then again, Alicia couldn't throw lightning spells. It was an even division of skill, all things considered.

And finally, there was the blonde, naive, somewhat selfish princess of Valencia, Karen, who had decided to play hooky from her royal duties for the umpteenth time and barged into this adventure. She was talking with Alicia, probably asking what she was cooking and asking for lessons, as she had never had to do things for herself before meeting with this group. She kept her satchel close to her, which contained, among other things, a magical gun which fired bullets of differing properties depending on the crystal that was currently stuck in the gun.

Alicia noticed them first. "Welcome back, Mr. Swordsman, Marin. Are you hungry? Dinner will be ready soon."

Clare was more direct in her speech, though not unkindly. "Welcome back. Rudy, Marin, how did your quest for information go?"

Rudy replied, "The forest is teeming with inhuman, and many parties have gone in with the intent of cleaning this forest up. It's a safe assumption that our target has taken up one of these foolhardy 'cleanse' missions."

"Or they, could be here for something else entirely," a female voice challenged, "Like the rumored artifact that can grant you three wishes that's in a shrine underneath these woods." Everyone in the clearing turned to see who it was.

"Carol!" they exclaimed. The voice belonged to their well-built, pink-haired, undead-phobic magician friend.

"Impressive. It couldn't have been that easy to locate us. How did you manage it?" Clare demanded.

"She had help, of course," said another female voice. Stepping out from the shadows behind Carol, the busty red-head known to nobles as Rose the Thief but to her friends as Ruby made her presence known. Both girls looked smug.

"Did you track us all the way here?" Karen asked. Carol laughed.

"Of course not, princess. Neither of us are accomplished trackers, despite Ruby's amazing skills."

"So, how then?" Rudy pressed.

"You guys know that I can cast Escape, which allows me to be where Rudy is as long as I've seen spent time with him during the day, yes?" Ruby asked.

"A very useful spell for a thief," Clare said, unable to keep the disdain from her voice.

"WELL, excuuu-se me, Ms. High-and-Mighty. Some of us here believe that discretion is the better part of valor."

The battle priestess and the master thief glared at each other, the air crackling with energy. Carol decided to pick up the explanation. "Escape does have some useful things going for it, but among its limitations are its inability to transport other people with the caster, and that the caster must spend some time with her 'destination' before casting - something that's very hard to do if you're separated by an ocean."

"That means, I guess, that Ruby couldn't just use Escape to bring herself and Carol over here in this continent," Alicia deduced.

"That's right," Ruby confirmed.

"A different spell, then," Clare mused.

"Not entirely a different spell, but a highly modified and mana-intensive version of Escape. I did some research on a series of spells known as Teleport, and used my findings there to convince Ruby to experiment. And it worked! First time we tried it, and here we are!" Carol gushed.

"Wow, that's really lucky - I mean fortunate. What could have happened if it didn't work the first time, though?" Karen asked.

"Who cares? We're here, meaning it works, my theory is sound - for the most part, that is - and we can YAWN lend our aid to your-" Carol never got to finish her sentence, and Ruby's quick reflexes saved her from a bad fall.

"Oi, magician girl, wake up! Seriously, falling asleep on everyone like that," Ruby sighed. "Actually, the trip is more draining than it looks - I'm starting to feel drowsy myself."

"I can give you a sip of purple elixir," Rudy offered, but Clare waved him down. "Why not?"

"It's nighttime, we're about to have dinner anyway and then go to sleep afterwards. If they arrived in the middle of a fight, then yes, the elixir is justifiable."

"Miss Priss is right, Rudy. Just let me and Carol have some shut-eye and we'll be good to go in the morning."

"Don't call me that," Clare said in icy tones.

"Now, now, I'm sure everyone's mood will be better once we've had dinner," Alicia, ever the peacemaker, stepped in. "Shall I serve one up for you as well, Ruby, or would you rather have some sleep first?"

"I'll have something, yes, thank you," Ruby replied.

"Marin is hungry too," the catgirl put in.

"There's enough for everyone, including Carol when she wakes up."

As always, whenever something like a happy family dinner is about to take place in a fantasy setting, it never quite does. The dog-demons, following the scent of the food and smoke, managed to stumble their way through the twisting forest passageways and surrounded the clearing. They were saved by Marin's enhanced senses.

"You stinky mutts can't have any of our dinner, nya!" she yelled, brandishing her spear. The others quickly pulled out their weapons, forming a ring around Alicia and the still sleeping Carol.

The dog-demons, snapping out of their momentary surprise, raised their muzzles and let loose with long-carrying howls, and prepared to fight.

Rudy quickly knelt by Carol and forced some purple liquid down her throat. Her eyelids immediately flew open, and she was at her feet in an instant. Rudy quickly resumed his position in the defensive circle.

"Did you hear that?" Merrill whispered tersely. She hated to admit it, but the sudden cacophony of howling unnerved her.

"Sounds like our canine friends have found something - and look!" Genie indicated the pair of dog-demons stalking them.

Merrill looked. Sure enough, their stalkers were cocking their heads to one side, listening at the howling. Then, as if reaching a decision, they turned tail and left the two women alone in the tree.

"What was that all about?" Merrill asked, still using whispers.

"I'm no expert, but it sounded like one of their patrols found some major opposition and decided to call for backup, meaning all friendly dogs who could hear."

"A rival dog pack, perhaps?"

"Possibly. We'd best use this opportunity to get back to Louie and Melissa."

"Without light of any sort? I don't think moonlight even reaches down here, thanks to the dense cover!"

"Would you rather wait until whoever wins the big beastie brawl comes looking for victory feast morsels?"

"Uh, I'm sure between the two of us we can figure out the way back."

"Smart girl. Let's move!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Brave Soldier**

By Jemu Nekketsu

DISCLAIMER: I don't own either Brave Soul or Rune Soldier, much to my angst. I just like to write about them.

**Chapter 2: Crazy Morning-Afters**

"Damn it to hoolies, this place is a stinking monster hell-hole!" Rudy roared, "And I haven't even had breakfast yet!"

"Oh, pipe down, you're making my head hurt!" Carol snapped at the swordsman.

"I can't fight on an empty stomach! What kind of monster attacks before breakfast?" he continued his tirade, kicking a stray kobold corpse into a pile, or rather, the foot of the small hill where its brothers lay.

"I guess that makes them monsters, then," Karen supplied. "They clearly have no manners, Sensei."

"… Don't call me that."

Kobolds, as a whole, were not big threats. They weren't big, and don't present much of a challenge to a 7-strong adventuring party consisting of a swordsman, two priestesses, a summoner, a thief, a magician, and a princess with a magical gun under the normal circumstances. However, nighttime in the gloomy forest wasn't a normal circumstance, and the cunning little monsters took advantage of this, hurling knives, hand axes, and short spears at the party and ducking back into the brush. Their night vision allowed them to attack with impunity and retreat – until Carol and Clare started to unload their spells on the foliage and trees. Their cover gone, and the area lit up, the tables turned fatally for the kobolds. Marin quickly summoned a horde of Undines to put the forest fire out – while it was nice to be rid of the spooky forest once and for all, as Ruby pointed out, where would the monsters go except to any nearby human settlements?

The kobolds then tried another attack, this time before dawn, but the widened clearing limited their hit-and-hide plan.

"Carol, what do you think, were our recent attackers from the same pack?" Clare asked.

"Hmm, the fur color is the same, but the pattern is different. Interesting," Carol replied.

Rudy raised an eyebrow at the exchange. This was rare, Clare and Carol not sniping at each other like a new bride and her mother-in-law.

"Breakfast is ready! Come and get it!" Alicia yelled, causing another eyebrow-raise for Rudy. '_Something is going on in here, but that can wait after breakfast.'_

The morning stillness was shattered by a shrill scream, followed by the sounds of a man in pain. Normally, this would have been cause for alarm, but not for two tired adventurers who had spent the night evading detection and capture from kobolds.

"Melissa's awake," Genie noted, facing the direction of the scream.

"And is staying true to form," Merill added. "Well, if this keeps up, we should meet up with them in no time."

Genie grunted in response, motioning for the other woman to get a move on.

"Why are you upset at me, Melissa? Is it because you woke up next to me, or rather, wrapped around me?" Louie couldn't resist asking. He liked the way Melissa's eyes gleamed when she was mad – or was about to launch another ray of searing light. He couldn't tell which was which – yet. He was optimistic that he would figure it out, eventually, assuming he didn't die during the interim.

"If you were any sort of gentleman, Louie, you will not mention that fact in public hearing!" Melissa snapped.

"Public hearing? Have you taken a look around at where we are, Melissa? There's nothing around us but trees, and I doubt they'd mind if they heard that we slept together last night." _Hmm, not the best choice of words, I think, thought Louie._

A strangled gasp and a screech informed them that some people did mind hearing that particular tidbit of information.

"WHAT-?!"

"Did I just hear you say you slept with Melissa?!"

"Oh, Genie, Merill, you're finally here! Just in time, I was about to make pancakes for breakfast. Are pancakes alright with you, or-" Louie never got to finish his sentence, as Melissa's self-proclaimed protectors proceeded to turn _him _into a pancake.

"This is very much against my will," Melissa lamented softly, as usual, to herself.

'_Suck it up and deal with it, woman. Adversity builds character, or haven't you heard?'_

'I never should have listened to you,' Melissa hurled back at her subconscious.

'_Would you rather have spent the night getting chilled, and woken up alone in the morning? Oh, and try to prevent your _protectors _from killing our champion, hmm?'_

'They wouldn't.' She hoped that it was true.

'_They just might – after all, those two see you more than a friend, you're practically sisters. All you need is some ceremony that specifies what you can, will, and will not share, some witnesses, and that's it!'_

Melissa's subconscious didn't have to worry – much as Genie and Merill wanted to stomp Louie into the ground, exhaustion finally caught up with them, and they ended up using the magician's limp form as a cushion. Melissa's brow twitched.

"Melissa, help me. I can't move," Louie pleaded.

It was going to be one of _those _days. She just knew it.

Unknown to the humans, word was spreading among the demi-humans of the previous night's firefight. The various kobold packs were in disarray – two packs downed by the same group of humans. It was clear that this party of humans was a threat, but what was their purpose here? Were they the same as the other bands that entered, intent on exterminating all non-humans in the forest, even though it was clear that it was the humans who did not belong here? Clearly, something must be done about them, but as their numbers and skills stand, it would take a bloody toll on them, with the results still uncertain.

The same thoughts were shared by a clan of black-skinned orcs. It was one thing to go against other demi-human warbands, where losses made sense in the face of all the number of bodies involved in the fighting, but for a mere fistful of humans to take out more than their weight in kobolds was saying something else. Even kobolds could pull orcs down by sheer numbers, trickery and dogged determination, causing losses in a warband of comparable size, but if reports were true, none of the band of seven suffered any serious damage. They attributed it to magic – setting the forest on fire to flush out the kobolds was a sound tactic, but the trees in this dark forest did not take flame easily from pitch and torches. Perhaps, they could play the humans against their rivals, and strike them down when the opportunity presented itself.

The discussion in the camp of green-skinned orcs was taking a different tack entirely.

"Boss! Dem 'umies jus' up and wacked da stuffin' outta couple a gangz o' dogboyz!"

"Couple a gangz? Dat makes, lemme see, twenty, twenny-eight, uh, whutz afta twenny-eight?"

"Uh, thirty – no, no, I got it thirty an' nine, yeah!"

"Huh! So, dat many 'umies came in ta our woodz?"

"Nuh-uh! I hear 'em sneakboyz say it were just seven of 'em!"

"Seven!? Them sneakboyz must be sniffin' them finger-leaves again! There's no way seven 'umies can take down two gangz o' dogboyz!"

"Dem 'umies wuz usin' a lotta flashy trikz and settin' stuff on fire. I saw it m'self."

"**SO! Dey like settin' stuff on fire, ey? HUR HUR HUR HUR HUR!"**

"I don't like da sound of dis – da Boss is laughin'."

"Yer! Da boss laughs funny!"

"Not dat, stupid! When da Boss laughs, it means plenty o' pain comin' up!"

"**Lissen up, ya lazy bunch a gitz! We'z goin' huntin'! We'z gonna be pickin' a fight wi' deze 'umies dat think dey's can set my forest on fire! On yer feet, Boyz! All together, wi' me!!"**

The forest's eerie silence was shattered by a single loud roar, echoing among the trees.

"**WAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!"**

The roar brought Genie and Merill to instant attention. They made their way, slowly, to their feet, with Louie pulling his staff from his pack, and Melissa had hers out and was gripping it as she prayed to Mylee.

"I'm beginning to have second thoughts about the sanity of sticking around this place," Louie muttered.

Melissa ignored him. "Genie, Merill, are you alright?"

"We had some shut-eye, and a bit of food before, so I figure we'll be alright," Genie replied.

"What the hell made that awful noise?" Merill asked.

"Something I hope we don't have to meet in the near future," Melissa replied.

"Aw, come on, don't be like that! It's obviously the guardian for the forest's secret treasure. It's partly what we came here for, right?" Louie countered.

"If I remember correctly, we were here to look for 'a great treasure.' I don't recall 'avoiding becoming dog food' and fighting as part of our goals here," Merill whined.

Another loud 'WAAAAGGGHH!' resounded through the trees, and Louie felt a tremendous surge of sorcery a mere second before columns of fire roared up some distance to their right. Inhuman screams filled the air, as did the scent of charred flesh. Melissa felt her stomach rebel, and cupped a hand to her face to fight the wave of nausea.

"We better move!" Louie cried out. Genie nodded, then glanced at Melissa, who was turning into a sickly shade of green. "We need to move quickly, Melissa. Are you up to it?"

"I don't know," the priestess answered honestly.

Thunder boomed as Louie felt lightning magic being flung about, and the resulting increase in screams proved that somebody meant serious business. The sounds of battle, of steel clashing against steel, of blades ripping through flesh, were getting closer and closer.

"I'll cast a spell that'll make us move much faster – it'll make our walking speed after casting it faster than our running speed before!" Louie said.

"Do it, magician!"

"Years for minutes, moments for life! Haste!" Louie intoned.

"I don't feel any different. Are you sure it worked, Louie?" Merill asked.

Before the magician could answer, a group of green-skinned hulking humanoids looking badly tattered and singed stumbled into the clearing where the four were. Genie recognized the breed. "Orcs!"

Suddenly, one orc's head was loped off, courtesy of Genie's broadsword. Two of Merill's daggers found homes in two of the creatures' thick skulls, and a fourth was sent crashing through the trees by Louie's fist. Before the remaining orcs could act, another six of them were out of commission, leaving only seven. With their newfound speed, Louie, Merill, and Genie were able to take care of remainder. The only damage they sustained was a long rip in Louie's cape, where an orc's wrist-claw managed to snag it.

"Wow, I guess that the haste spell worked. Looks like I owe you one, Louie," Merill quipped.

"The last ones fled here onii-chan – eh?"

Louie and company stared at the green-clad, pink-haired female that suddenly burst through the foliage, sporting cat ears on her head and brandishing a spear.

"Wait up, Marin – huh?" A brown-haired swordsman followed, appearing from the direction of the battle and magical explosions, a long narrow-bladed sword in his hands.

Genie and Merill, who still had their weapons out, tensed, holding their arms ready. Louie strode in front of the two, much to their dismay, and asked, "So, was it you guys we heard earlier roaring loudly enough to wake the dead?"

The swordsman spoke up, "That wasn't us, it was those orcs whom we dispatched that made the racket. Looks like you had a run in with them as well."

"Yeah, well, they sure make a lot of noise, but don't have much to back it up with. I think my haste spell was overkill."

_Haste spell? _Rudy thought, appraising the speaker. He spoke like a magician, referring to spells nonchalantly like Carol, and yet he had a longsword strapped to his belt. He couldn't be… "Ah, where are my manners? I'm Rudy, a Hunter from Valencia. And you are?"

At the mention of the words 'Hunter' and 'Valencia,' Genie stiffened and cried out, "Don't answer him! Don't give him your name!"

"Why, Genie?"

"Agh, you had to drop names, didn't you!" Merill whacked him on the head.

"Ow, Merill, what was that for?"

Rudy's eyes gleamed briefly. _I better take Karen as a tag-along on my next missions – it makes moments like these happen more often._ _So, we have Genie the blademistress, Merill the little thief, and voila! Our mission is almost over. _"Your friend who looked like she was about to throw up, her name is Melissa, isn't it, Mr. Rune Soldier?"

"Hey! You know my name! Am I famous?"

"Aw, hell, now look what you've done!" Genie moaned.

"What is it with you guys?! Is there something I'm not seeing here? Let's have some explanations, Mr. Rudy, Hunter of Valencia, since my friends here won't tell me a thing."

"Sure. I'm a Hunter, Rune Soldier. I take on various requests – I investigate rumors, I retrieve lost items, I locate missing persons, and take on the occasional bodyguard mission. If the price is right, or if I feel like it, I'll consider taking your request. With me so far?"

"Yeah, and please, call me Louie. It's weird being addressed as Rune Soldier – I didn't even make that title up."

"Okay, Louie. Now, my last request was from a certain high-ranking nobleman from a kingdom called Ohfun. It seems he wants a certain fighter/magician brought before him, so he could 'give the young man what he so richly deserves for his actions.' When I asked for particulars, I was informed that he would be traveling with three women: swordswoman, a thief, and a priestess. Sounds like anyone you know?" Rudy gave him a grin.

Genie's hands tightened around her sword hilt, while Merill's arms ached from holding her knives in a ready position. Louie took a step back. "You're- you're hunting me, is that it?"

"Yup. That pretty much sums it up. So, are you ready to go? My client is waiting."

"Sorry, but I don't intend to return to Ohfun anytime soon!" Louie cried out. He brought out a small orb, the one he used for teleporting, and spun around to retrieve Melissa – only to see her standing still, a knife held to her throat by a redhead standing behind her.

"I'm afraid we can't allow you to do that, Mr. Magician," the redhead drawled.

"Nice going, Ruby, I didn't notice you back there," Rudy called out.

"You weren't supposed to," came Ruby's reply.

"I thought you were a city thief – had you had some ranger training too?"

"Moving undetected in the brush isn't too different from moving inside a mansion, just a bit more challenging."

As Genie and Merill watched in dismay, the rest of Rudy's party made their way through the trees and stood behind him and Marin.

"What took you guys so long?" Rudy asked.

"We had to take care of the bodies, so as not to attract any more attention," a blue-haired woman with a rapier answered.

"Clare had enough presence of mind to see to that – unlike present company here," a pink-haired woman retorted. "Seriously what were you two thinking? You could have run into more monsters, and there were just two of you!"

"Aw, Carol, I didn't know you cared," Rudy joked, then hit the grass suddenly as Carol flung a fire bolt at his head.

"We were all worried about you, Mr. Swordsman," said another blue-haired girl, who bore a striking resemblance to the one called Clare.

"Ah, Alicia, could you not stand too close to your sister – I can't tell you two apart," complained a blonde in a white and pink traveling dress.

"You can tell us apart by our clothes and gear, can you not, Karen? I don't wear armor like Clare does, and I carry a staff."

Rudy got to his feet, careful to put Marin between him and Carol's line of fire. "So, Louie, we have a hostage, and we outnumber you 2 to 1. Not good odds for you, if it comes to a fight."

"Y- yeah. How about letting the hostage go? In fact, let everyone else go – it's me the king wants, not them, right?"

"Actually, the king wants to return the favor to 'the heroes who defeated Dardanel.' Note that he meant a group, not a single person in this case."

"It's hopeless, then. The reputation of the Hunters of Valencia is well deserved," Genie sighed, sheathing her broadsword.

"Genie?" Merill asked, unsure, her gaze flicking from her dejected friend, to her captured friend, to the man leading their capture. With a curse, she stowed her knives away. "I hate this!"

"Louie?" Rudy asked. When he got no response, he continued, "What did you guys do that made the king desperate enough to hire us from Valencia?"

"Why do you have to ask? Didn't you see the damage?"

"What damage?"

"The damage to the castle! We dropped a huge floating magical device on it, by accident, after foiling Dardanel's plans."

"The castle was impressive, massive, gorgeous, when we came to see the king. Whatever damage you guys did, someone must have been busy and cleaned it up after you left."

"Must have been my father," Louie mused. "Now I owe him as well."

"Ruby, can you bring the priestess over – I've finished binding these two with magic," Carol called out, "And we'll do her next."

"Finally – my arm is getting sore. I apologize that we have to resort to this, priestess, it's just that we can't take any chances with your burly friend," Ruby drawled.

"I know – in your place, I would have done the same, if I saw one of your members vulnerable," Melissa replied. "Lord Mylee generally disapproves of such tactics, but it does prevent unnecessary bloodshed."

"Lord Mylee?" the thief asked.

"He's my deity – the deity of my order. He's a god of battle."

"God of battle – that means, your quarterstaff isn't just to focus spells with, right? You can fight with it, if it comes to that."

"Yes."

"Heh, totally the opposite of our mild-mannered Alicia."

Louie came to a decision. "Alright, we'll return to Ohfun with you."

"As prisoners, or of your free will?" Rudy asked.

"What's the difference?" Louie demanded.

"Simple. If you return as prisoners, we'll keep you under magical restraint for the remainder of our trip. If it's of your free will, we will demand on your word of honor that you not try to elude us – do so and we will hunt you down and take you back with force. If you behave, though, we in turn are honor-bound to keep you in good condition before your meeting with our client."

"In other words, the hard way, or the easy way, nya!" Marin piped up.


End file.
